The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908,[1] to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century; It also sought to promote uniformity of scoring methods, and to professionalize the press box, such that access was limited only to working reporters, telegraphers, and others who had a reason to be there. The forty-three founding members of the Baseball Writers Association first met in mid-October 1908.[2] They included Joe S. Jackson, who became the association's first president. At that time, Jackson was the sporting editor (today called sports editor) of the Detroit Free Press. Also selected as officers were Irving E. Sanborn of the Chicago Tribune, syndicated columnist Hugh Fullerton, and Boston Globe baseball writer Tim Murnane[3] A second meeting was held in New York City in December; Sanborn decided he could not serve as an officer at that time, and he was replaced by William Weart of the Philadelphia Times. The slate of officers was ratified, and anyone who wrote about baseball in major league cities was eligible for membership. This policy changed, however, in December 1913, at which time it was decided that minor league baseball writers could also become members.[4] Then, Jackson became a dominant force in the early years of the baseball writers, being elected as president of the association during nine consecutive terms.[5] Jackson finally retired in 1919, while Sanborn returned to assume the position of president. After that, Jackson became a member of the BBWAA Board of Directors.[6]

Considering the ready availability of television broadcasts for the majority of baseball games, plus instant access to information through the Internet, some have called into question why the BBWAA has not broadened its membership rules to include broadcasters and researchers.[7] (Similar arguments were made for the inclusion of Web-based journalists, before the BBWAA added Web writers to its ranks in December 2007.)[8]

Others have openly questioned why the BBWAA is involved in the award and Hall of Fame votingprocesses at all,[9] citing in some cases journalistic integrity and the need to remain unbiased in their coverage of newsworthy events.[10]

Replicas of various BBWAA awards and lists of past winners are displayed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in the Records Room, which also has other exhibits, including charts showing active and all-time leaders in various baseball statistical categories.

The annual J. G. Taylor Spink Award is the highest award given by the BBWAA. The award is open to both BBWAA members and nonmembers, but only one winner—Roger Angell of The New Yorker, the 2014 recipient—had never been a BBWAA member in his career. Despite having written on baseball for more than a half-century, Angell never worked a specific baseball writing beat, thereby making him ineligible for BBWAA membership.

Note: The MLB Rookie of the Year Award was established by the Chicago chapter in 1940 and was known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award (after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s). In 1947, the award became an official MLB award (voted on by the national BBWAA), with Jackie Robinson as its first recipient. In July 1987, the award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award (see § Awards voting, above).

^"Terry Ryan Award". Play Ball! Minnesota official website. Minnesota Twins Community Fund. Retrieved 2011-11-03. The winner is presented with the [Terry Ryan Award] at the annual Baseball Writers Association of America Diamond Awards along with many other prestigious Twins awards.

"Red Foley Dies at 79; Scorer in 10 World Series". The New York Times. The Associated Press. July 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-19. He served for many years as an officer of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and was chairman of the New York chapter in 1969-70.

MLB Awards and Baseball Hall of Fame Results. Baseball-Reference.com (including HOF inductees, Hall of Famer Batting and Pitching Stats, HOF Ballot and Voting Summaries, Projected or Official Ballots for 2012 to 2015, Voting Results for 1936 to present, and "Most times in the All-Star Game")